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It doesn't mean I can't help to prevent others from doing a stupid and dangerous thing.
How sure were you on sterilization? What kind of autoclave did he have? Was he using cavicide wipes for surface cleaning? Did he have barrier film on everything he touched? A bag on the tattoo machine? Was there a sharps container where the used needles were disposed of? Has he had any training other than reading stuff on the internet? Was he wearing gloves when he touched any of the equipment? Did he take off his gloves when he had to touch anything that wasn't being used for the tattoo and wash his hands after each time he took them off? Was the surface where he was tattooing a non-pourous material that was covered in a barrier and cleaned before AND after the tattoo? Was the floor carpeted or tiled? Did he wear a barrier apron? Was the power supply and power cord covered with bags? Was the bandage he put on you sterile? Did he properly clean the surface of your skin before the tattoo and shave it? Did he use speed stick on your skin to transfer the stencil? If he didn't use a stencil, did he draw the design on the skin directly? If so, was it a new pen, and did he throw it away after drawing on you? Was there anything else on the table where his equipment was that wasn't being used to tattoo, such as food/drink, a radio, etc, and if so, was there barrier film on it? Did he ever touch any of these things with his gloves on? Was the ointment he was using on you while tattooing coming out of a big tub, or a single use packet? If it was a tub, did he use something to spoon it out of the tub before starting the tattoo at all, or did he keep the tub open while he tattooed you? Did he have an ultrasonic at the station? Did he have a rinse cup in it that he cleaned out the tube between colors? Was the ultrasonic ever turned on during this procedure, spreading atomized blood and pigment in a large radius contaminating everything?

If any of those questions aren't answerable in a satisfactory manner, then you are right fucked.

Scratchers are just that. Scratchers. Spreaders of disease, misinformation, and shit tattoos that look like shit. They fucking suck, they are never good, and you got a bad, upside-down tattoo on your wrist. I'm sure you are stoked, but you are the kind of person who 10 years from now are going to be spending a lot of money to get it removed with a LASER or covered with a much larger tattoo.

In the meantime, get checked for Hep-B, Hep-C and if it continues to stay red, go to a doctor to make sure you haven't gotten cellulitis.

I've gotten tattoos done in the shop, and the artists have never done or had more than half the things you just listed. No tattoo artist that I or my friends have done business with is that anal. Surprisingly, between the 30 tattoos between myself and my friends in various shops or with him, there has been no sign of the HIV. He had same sterilization equipment and wipes that is commonly sold to "professional" tattoo artists. I got this tattoo over a year ago, and the redness went away just like any other tattoo. If your skin isn't red after the first couple days after a tattoo, you must be Wolverine.

And thanks for insulting the design that I created. I didn't realize that moderators didn't have to be somewhat polite about people's personal choices.

I'm sure you are stoked, but you are the kind of person who 10 years from now are going to be spending a lot of money to get it removed with a LASER or covered with a much larger tattoo.

I'm so glad that you're able to read a person by just a couple comments on the internet. Please refrain from making gross assumptions about someone's character and personal choice in the future. Thanks.

Hi! I'm a second generation tattoo artist. If you go to shops that don't do all those things listed, then fucking run away from them because they SHOULD do every single thing in that list. It may be anal, but it's for your safety and health, as well as the artist's and all the rest of his clients. You are an idiot and the scratcher who did that thing on you should have his thumbs smashed with a hammer. Have a nice day.